Hand stamps



W. D. KNEE Jan. 7,1958

HAND STAMPS Filed Oct. 11, 1956 FIG. 3

FIG. 2

FG. I

INVENTOR- WILLIAM D. KNEE BY WKM,

HIS ATTORNEYS HAND STAMPS William D. Knee, Dayton, (lhio, assignor to The National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Application October 11, 1956, Serial No. 615,292

8 Claims. (Cl. 101-111) This invention relates to hand stamps, and more particularly to a hand stamp in which the printing elements are mounted on a frame which may selectively be shifted into and out of printing position, and may be secured either in printing or non-printing position.

Hand stamps are widely used in a great variety of business applications. A common difficulty with these stamps has been the likelihood of inadvertently depositing ink from the stamp on clothing, furniture, papers, etc. when the stamp is not in use. In addition, there is often-a possibility of injury to the type characters of the stamp when it is not in use, due to their exposed position.

it is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a hand stamp in which the type characters may be shifted to an inoperative or concealed position when not in use.

It is a further object to provide a hand stamp in which the type characters are mounted on a movable frame, which may be secured in the hand stamp in either of two positions, in one of which positions the selected type characters are exposed for printing and in the other of which positions the type characters are protected against accidental contact.

With these and incidental objects in View, the invention includes certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, a preferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the hand stamp, with a portion of the type supporting member broken away, showing the type characters in inoperative or concealed position.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, but showing the selected type characters in printing position.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the hand stamp with the type characters in their inoperative position, as in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken on line 55 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, a supporting member 20 is provided, having side plates 21 and 22, joined by a top portion or bridging member 23 to which is fixed a handle 24 by means of a screw 25. The bridging member 23 is of cup-shaped configuration and has fixed to its inside surface, on two opposite sides, retaining members 26 of inverted U shape. The function of these members will be subsequently described. Each of the side plates 21 and 22 has a slot 27 in which rides a shaft '28, extending between and through said side plates. Integral with the shaft 28 at one end thereof is a knurled knob 29, while at its other end the shaft 28 is threaded to engage complementary threads on a second knurled knob 30.

Rotatably mounted on the shaft 28 is a frame 31 comprising two side frame members 32 and 33 joined at one end by a cross piece 34 and at the other end by an anvil rest 35. Extending between the frame members 32 and 33 and mounted intermediate the ends thereof is a shaft 36 on which are rotatably mounted a plurality of flanged 2318,82 Patented Jan. 7, 1958 wheels 37. In the drawings, the hand stamp of the present invention is shown provided with two such wheels, but it, will be apparent that the invention is not limited to a stamp having two wheels, since more or less may be used. The wheels 37, in assembled position on the shaft 36, provide two runways, one for each of the endless printing bands 38, made of micro-porous rubbery material. The outside of each of the bands has raised type characters spaced therearound, and the inside of each band has secured theretoa reinforcing layer of cloth. While various types of material may be used, the preferred type material is porous resilient artificial rubber of the butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer type made by the process disclosed in the United States Patent No. 2,554,485 to Wilson, issued May 29, 1951. The cloth strip is secured to the type during the molding and vulcanizing operation described in said patent. It will be understood that the type may be secured to the strip by any method of joinder, and that the strip may be of any suitable, flexible material.

The bands 38 extend around the wheels 37 at one end and around an anvil 39 mounted on the anvil rest at the other end, so that turning of one of the wheels 37 permits any type character to be brought to printing position, supported by the anvil 39, as shown at 40 in Figs.

2 and 5.

Two shields 41 and 42 are provided, one at each side of the frame 31, to prevent accidental contact with the printing bands 38. The shields 41 and 42 are retained in proper position on the frame 31 by means of bent-over extensions 43 on both sides of each of said shields, having holes therein for engagement by the shaft 28, which, it will be recalled, also passes through the frame 31.

The frame 31 is retained in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2, and in which the selected type characters are supported by the anvil 39 in printing position, by means which will now be described. The cross piec 34 has formed thereon a projection 44, which is shaped to fit closely within the bridging member 23 of the support member 20. The shaft 28 may be held against movement in the slots 27 of the side plates 21 and 22 by frictional engagement of the inner surfaces of the knobs 29 and 30 with the plates 22 and 21, respectively. This engagement is secured by turning the knob 30, which, it will be recalled, threadedly engages the shaft 28, relative to the knob 29, which is integral with said shaft. It will be seen that if the frame 31 is shifted within the support member 20, so that the projection 44 fits closely within the bridging member 23, and the knob 31) is then tightened on the shaft 28, the frame 31 will be held securely with respect to the support member 20 in the positron in which it is shown in Fig. 2, and in which the type characters of the printing bands 38 are in printing position as shown at 48. The frame 31 in this position is held against rotational movement about the shaft 28 by the engagement of the projection 44 with the bridging member 23, and the shaft 28 is retained against shifting movement in the slots 27 by the frictional force exerted by the knobs 29 and 30 against the side members 22 and 21, respectively.

After the desired stamping operations have been performed with the stamp and it is desired to shift the type members to inoperative position, so they will cause no accidental ink stains, and so that they will be protected from possible injury, the knob 39 is loosened. This frees the shaft 28 for movement in the slots 27, thus permitting the frame 31 to be shifted downwardly as viewed in Fig. 2, sufficiently to permit the projection 44 of the cross piece 34 to be moved out of engagement with the bridging member 23. The frame 31 carrying the printing bands 38 may then be rotated degrees about the shaft 28 so that the anvil 39 is now at the upper end of the frame 31. The

shaft '28, together with the frame 31, may then be slid upwardly in the slots 27 of 'the'sideplates '21 and 22 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, in which position two projecting end portions 45 of the anvil rest 35 are engaged between the legs of Tthe'retaining members'26 to-prevent rotational movement of the frame 31 about'the-sha ft 2'8, and the top edges of the shields 41' and 42 abut corresponding edges of the bridging member 23. The frame 31 is now in .the positionin'which it is'shown'in-Figs. 1 and 3, and may be secured in this position by tightening the knob30 with respect to the shaft 28 and knob 2b integral therewith. As maybe seen,'in this position the type members are located within the bridging member 23 and are thereby protected against contactso long as the hand stamp is not in use.

While the form of the inventionshown and described herein is admirably adapted'to'fulfill the objectsprimarily stated, itis to be understoodthat it is notintended to confine the invention to the oneform or embodiment disclosed herein, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various other forms.

What is claimed is:

l. A hand stamp including, in combination, a supporting member having spaced-apart legsconnected by a cupshaped bridging member; an inner frame membershiftably mounted between the'legs of said'supporting member; printing means at one end of the inner'frame member; first retaining means to retain the inner frame member in a position in which the'printing means is-exposed; second retaining means to retain the inner frame member in a position in which the printing means is concealed in the cup-shaped bridging member and consequently is inoperable to print; and securing means for securing the inner frame member in either said exposed or said concealed position.

2. A hand stamp including, in combination, a supporting member consisting of a cup-shaped bridge connecting and supporting spaced-apart slotted legs, the bridge having a retaining formation and each leg having a retaining formation; an inner frame positioned between said legs and slidably pivoted by a pivot in the slots of said legs, said frame having a printing end with retaining formations cooperating with the retaining formations of the legs, and an opposite non-printing end having a retaining formation cooperating with the retaining formation of the bridge, the relative positions and dimensions of the slots, the pivot and the inner frame being such that with respect to the cup of the bridge when the frame pivot is in the end of the slots farthest away from the cup of the bridgthe frame may be turned so either the printing end or the non-printing end faces the cup so that the frame may be slid into the cup with either end foremost, the cup preventing contact of the printing end with printing material or an operators person, the retaining formations 6. A hand stamp including, in combination, a supportshaped bridging member; retaining means inside said cupshaped bridging member; a shaft extending between said legs and riding in the slots in said legs; an inner frame rotatably mounted on said shaft between the legs, said frame including two side members, a first cross member connecting one end of said side members, and a second cross member connecting the other end of said side members, said first cross member'being shaped to conform-to the inside contours of the cup-shaped bridging member, and said second cross member being shaped to coact with the retaining means in the cup-shaped bridging member; adjustable printing means mounted on said inner frame and extending across one of said cross members; and securing means for fixing said shaft relative to the supporting member at any desired position in the slots, whereby the inner frame may be slid and rotated with respect to the supporting member selectively either to put the first cross member in engagement with the cup-shaped bridging member or to put the second cross member in engagement with the retaining means, and may then be fixed in either of these positions by the securing means, thus enabling the printing means selectively to be exposed in printing position or to be concealed Within the cupshaped bridging member in non-printing position.

7. The hand stamp of claim 6 in which shield pieces are mounted acrossthe frame covering certain exposed parts of the printing means which are not enclosed within the cup'of the bridge when the inner frame is in non-printing position.

8. A hand stamp including,in combination, a supporting member having spaced apart, slotted legs and a cupshaped bridging member; retaining means secured to the interior surface of said cup-shaped member; a shaftextending between said legs and riding in the slots in said legs; .aninner frame rotatably mounted on said shaft between thelegs, said frame including a plurality of side members, a first cross member connecting one end of said side members, and a second cross member connecting the other end of said side members, said first cross member having a portion shaped to conform to the inside contours of-the cup-shaped bridging member, and said second cross member having a portion shaped to coact with the retaining means in the cup-shaped bridging member; printing means mounted on the inner frame, said printing means including a setting means and at least one endless printing band extending about the setting means and the second cross member, and being supported in printing position by said second cross member; and securing means for fixing said shaft relative to the supporting member at any desired position in the slots, whereby the inner frame may be rotated and slid selectively either to put the first cross member in engagement with the inside contours of the cup-shaped bridging member or to put the second cross member in engagement with the retaining means in the cup-shaped bridging member, to be there fixed by the securing means to put the hand stamp in printing or non-printing condition, that portion of the printing means which is set for printing being enclosed within the cup-shaped bridging member when the hand stamp is in non-printing condition.

No references cited. 

